When it comes to news, lately, things have been no joke. There is a difference, though, between self-inflicted problems and those that occur at random.

Take, for instance, the adventure of Davina Rasa and her Nissan Cube. The Pequannock woman was doing 50 on Route 80 last Monday when a large bird - probably a turkey or turkey vulture, she says - crashed through the passenger side of her front windshield.

The bird destroyed a GPS device and visor, tore up the interior, and scattered feathers, blood and glass throughout the car before flopping into the trunk and dying.

"I ended up with a few scratches and a concussion from where the bird hit me," Rasa said afterward, "(but) all in all, I came out of it better than the bird did."

Ms. Rasa's bad news was random but - if you don't count damage to her car - had a happy ending.

This month we were reminded how problems caused by people - at turns neglectful, selfish, deceitful and disingenuous - can be far worse. With humans at the helm, happy endings are rare.

At Rutgers University - which describes itself as one of the top 62 research universities in North America with "a long history of innovation, knowledge, and leadership" - a conspiracy to hide homophobia and bullying was exposed. Other universities would be forgiven for wanting off any list on which Rutgers resides.

The ringleader was University President Robert L. Barchi, who helped conceal borderline criminal behavior of the underachieving mens' basketball coach, Mike Rice. When told there was video evidence of Rice's physical and emotional abuse of players, Barchi did what any university president would do: He gave himself an out.

By refusing to watch the video, Barchi could always say he wasn't aware how bad Rice's behavior was. Of course Rice should be fired, he could say if the videos hit the fan. And that's just what he did.

Barchi's ongoing rationalizations have served only to further embarrass Rutgers and remind students that powerful adults often major in deception. The president needs to follow Rice and Athletic Director Tim Pernetti out the door.

Memo to the Rutgers Board of Governors: You own all of this. Give Rutgers the chance to re-earn the respect of New Jersey and the broader educational community by making a fresh start at the top.

But that isn't the worst news. This past week, loaded guns and inattention seem to have converged in a Toms River backyard to take the life of a six-year-old boy. The weapon: a rifle at least briefly in the hands of his four-year-old playmate, a gun apparently left unsecured in the playmate's home.

A police investigation is underway, its official findings as yet unknown. But in the court of common sense, a gun owner who does not secure weapons doesn't need his or her finger on the trigger to be invested in the outcome.

In a state and nation debating how we should be allowed to own guns, the Toms River incident will be closely watched. One thing lawmakers won't be able to legislate, though, is making sure adults act in the interests of the greater good, no matter the age of its stakeholders.

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In safeguarding children, adults are flunking out

When it comes to news, lately, things have been no joke. There is a difference, though, between self-inflicted problems and those that occur at random.

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